A Silent Observer
by katrin87
Summary: Steph's brought to the hospital because of pains but nobody knows what's going on. Steph and Ranger definitely have some surprises up their sleeves. Only a tiny bit angsty, with a HEA. Tank's POV. Babe story!


A/N: Everything's going to be fine, so no worries. But there's a tiny little bit of angst at the beginning. Don't own them, only playing, all mistakes are mine.

Written for a challenge on PerfectlyPlum.

A Silent Observer

By Katrin

We had been sitting here for hours now, waiting for word on the Bombshell. They had brought her in after Bobby had found her doubled over in her cubby. We had no idea what was going on, what might have caused her so severe pain, so we did the only thing I could think of. We brought her to the hospital.

She didn't want to go, but she had to.

Now everyone who was free was sitting in the waiting room and it was cramped. Her parents were waiting, along with Connie, Lula and Mary Lou, as well as every Rangeman available. There were even some cops sitting around. We all loved her.

We brought her in about three hours ago, and **it had to be the longest day of the year**. Ranger was in the wind, assigning us to the task of taking care of his woman.

Yes, he had finally gotten his head out of his head and told her he loved her. Stupid man hadn't realized what was waiting for him all along.

I was interrupted in my musings when a nurse stepped out of the treatment area.

"Are you the family of Stephanie Manoso?"

Manoso? When the hell had they gotten married? From the looks of it I wasn't the only one wondering about this little piece of information.

Steph's dad stood up. "Yes."

"The doctor will be out to talk to you shortly."

"What's going on? How is she doing?"

"The doctor will tell you. She's going to be fine."

At least we didn't have to worry anymore, but that didn't tell us what was wrong in the first place.

After ten long minutes a doctor finally approached us.

"Mrs Manoso is going to be just fine. We were able to stop the contractions and already started the treatment for her infection. She'll need to stay here for a few days to monitor her though."

I heard Mrs Plum screeching "contractions?" before she fainted.

I was starring at the doc. "What do you mean, you could stop the contractions?"

"I take it you don't know she's pregnant. Well, Mrs Manoso is about 22 weeks pregnant. She and the baby are fine." That explained the baggy clothing she was wearing lately.

But I needed to know some more details. "You said something about an infection?"

"She suffered most likely from a urinary tract infection that wasn't treated which led to a kidney infection. Kidney infections are know to cause early labor, but you got her here just in time to prevent the worst. She's sleeping, but you can go in and see her now. But no more than two people at a time."

The doctor fell silent and with him the whole waiting room. That could only mean one thing. Ranger was back.

"What's going on? Tank? I happen to get back and wanted to take my wife out for lunch when I'm told that she's in the hospital. What happened?"

The doc explained it for him again and his worried face softened, the crinkled lines smoothing out. I took that chance to take a closer look at him. Ranger had been gone for three months and the assignment had been rough on him. He had bruises and walked more stiffly than when he left.

When the doc came to the part about Steph being pregnant Ranger's whole face lit up.

He nodded at the doc who excused himself and then strode towards the Bombshell's room.

My job was done, time to get back to work.

A Silent Observer II

By Katrin

A few hours later I was back in the hospital. We all were worried about the Bombshell and there was no telling how long she would have to stay. And I wanted some answers, like how come she didn't tell me she was pregnant and why they hadn't told us they had gotten married.

I made my way up to Steph's room. She was on the maternity ward with Woody and Brett guarding hers and the bosses back. I nodded to them and entered the room.

From the looks of it Steph was sleeping with Ranger watching over her, sitting in a chair beside her bed. There was still an IV line running down to her hand, probably administering the stuff to treat the infection.

I took the time to inspect Ranger. He looked tired but happy. I had no idea whether it was due to the fact that his woman was pregnant or because he made it back in one piece. Probably it was both.

"How's she doing?"

"They gave her a sedative and encouraged her to sleep. As if she needed it."

True. The Bombshell napped whenever she got a chance. And thinking of it it got worse after Ranger left.

"How're you holding up?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Tell me about this marriage of yours. How come you never mentioned it?"

"Remember that day when **it was hot? So hot that** a couple of the guys had to be treated for fainting spells right before I left?"

I nodded, remembering the day. It had been unbearable, even with the climate control system we had at RangeMan.

"I planned on Steph taking up to my house near Toronto. Figured it would be cooler up there. You know the one. To make it short, she fainted due to the heat. I was so worried, I asked her to marry me right after she came to. We got married the same day."

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"We wanted to enjoy our time together before we told anyone. We didn't even get to enjoy a honeymoon before I had to leave."

"Did you know she was pregnant when you left?"

"Nope. Didn't know it then. She didn't know it either or she would have told me."

I nodded. It made perfect sense. However I had no idea when she had gotten the infection, but i didn't really care. The Bombshell was going to be just fine and Ranger was back.

"You know, that was the last mission. I didn't resign."

I nodded and left, leaving them to enjoy the presence of each other once Steph woke up.

They had finally tied the knot. I just knew it would cause a riot once the Burg heard about it. But that wasn't my problem to deal with.

A Silent Observer III

By Katrin

Almost 4 months later we were back at the hospital, but this time we knew what was going on. Bobby had once again found Steph doubled over in her cubby and had sent out a teamwide page that it was time. And it was time indeed. Steph was huge, not that anyone would ever dare and tell her, but she couldn't wait to get this baby out of her. She needed help constantly, even getting up was a challenge. We were all happy to help her, but as independent as she is it was hard for her to even accept help, let alone ask for it.

After Bobby had found her the first time in her cubby she had to stay at the hospital for ten days so they could monitor her. Both her and the boss weren't happy with it. But they both would do anything for their baby, so they dealt with it. Ella made sure that Steph didn't have to eat hospital food, keeping her spirits up with cake and whatever she wanted to eat.

In the end they had released the Bombshell into Bobby's care and she was told to take it easy. Not an easy task for her but she managed.

And now four months later we were sitting in a hospital waiting room again, this time in the maternity ward. All their friends were here, waiting with them, hoping to support them.

I was watching the people around me.

Ranger was pacing the hallway. For him** it had to be the longest day of the year**. The labor just didn't seem to progress and Steph couldn't endure the pain much longer, so she was getting an epidural at the moment. Why they had sent Ranger out of the room for this I had no idea. We all knew that Steph was more comfortable with him around and it had to be killing Ranger to be away from her now. After a few minutes he was called back into the room.

Looking around the room I saw Mrs Plum and Mrs Manoso. The both of them were praying for Steph and the baby. Mr Plum, or Frank as we all called him now was sitting stone faced, waiting in silence. Grandma Mazur was trying to molest Lester. It certainly served him right, so I was doing nothing to help him. Bobby was in with Steph and Ranger. He had helped her with the pregnancy, had even done an refresher course on how to deliver a baby.

"Just in case," he had said, "you just never know with the Bombshell." And he was right, but we had gotten her to the hospital in time.

Lula, Connie and Mary Lou sat in a corner together, ogling the Merry Men as Steph affectionately called us.

I don't know how much time had passed when the door to the room Steph was in opened. Out stepped Ranger and in his hands, cradled to his chest, was a small pink bundle.

"May I introduce Marisa Anna Manoso. Marisa, this is your family."

I looked at him and he had the largest smile I had ever seen on him on his face. He looked truly happy.

Looking around the room I saw the women crying and I had misty eyes myself.

It only happened once in a lifetime that Batman and Wonder Woman got together and created a new life.

They had come full circle. After three years of denying it they had finally admitted they loved each other. And just one year later, they had already a little family. And that despite Ranger's protests that he wasn't family material.

Even Batman can be wrong at times. But now it was time to meet my new godchild.

The End. And they lived happily ever after, had some more kids... :)


End file.
